On the 50th anniversary of a major Supreme Court case, the importance of the First Amendment was discussed to Des Moines students by those who took part.

On Tuesday, Dec. 15 the anniversary of the Tinker Armband protest was remembered at Theodore Roosevelt High School in Des Moines with a panel that included key members of the case, Mary Beth and John Tinker.

“My father didn’t have to teach us the First Amendment, he lived it,” said Mary Beth Tinker, the plaintiff of the Supreme Court case of 1969, Tinker V. Des Moines.

Roosevelt High School had panel full of people originally involved in Tinker v. Des Moines and those affected by today. The moderator was Daryl Beal, former Democratic state senator.

The event began with the students using their rights obtained from Tinker v. Des Moines. Students having the right to free speech was emphasized during the panel often.

Prior to the panel a short film was shown describing the history of the Supreme Court case.

On December 16 and 17, 1965 seven students wore black armbands to schools in Des Moines. Five of those students were suspended. Among them were John Tinker, Bruce Clark and Mary Beth Tinker.

Hope and Paul Tinker, the younger of the Tinkers, also wore the armbands to their elementary school.

A suit was filed by the Tinker family against the Des Moines school board, which eventually was taken to the U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 12, 1968. The court ruled in favor of the Tinker siblings, and that they had right to wear the armbands.

The Tinker family was represented by attorney Dan Johnston.